With Plum Creek Timber laying off hundreds this year, dismantling its Ksanka and perhaps Pablo mills, and closing on the “conservation sale” to taxpayers of one-third of its Montana timberlands since 2001, the question begs: How much longer will Montana’s largest forest products company remain in Montana? To guess the future, it helps to know […]

Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railway was hoping to clear the air last week when it told a group of prominent Whitefish politicians and business owners – oh, and Gov. Brian Schweitzer – that a large swath of the fastest-growing city in the state is habitable. But instead of appeasing those who have watched their property […]

The Baby Boomer generation I was born into has enjoyed a very long period of relative ease and comfort made possible by the previous generation, which faced far greater hardships and endured far greater sacrifices (see The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw). After enjoying these opportunities and privileges since the 1950s, it is now appropriate […]

A few weeks ago, I talked about some examples of how to leverage all that stuff you’ve got stored away in your head – and how to monetize that knowledge by repackaging it into something someone would actually pay for. At the time, we talked about some opportunities that a welder might have. Shortly after […]

At long last, Kalispell has a city manager. And the decision to hire Jane Howington would be altogether out of place here if it went undisputed. Opposition to the Ohio native is almost entirely based on her compensation package, which includes a salary of $112,500 annually, with another $5,000 deferred to her retirement each year. […]

While the eyes of the nation are on the healthcare debate in Washington, D.C., Congress is quietly passing legislation that’s specifically designed to undermine the already ailing health of our economy. We were promised an economy that worked for everyone, but instead Congress has passed an energy policy written by powerful special interests that are […]

Wow, has it been six months already? Seems like just yesterday (or maybe the day before yesterday) I was digging three feet of snow out of the driveway. It’s been an (ahem) interesting 2009 so far, so let’s look at how you’re doing with half of the year behind you. Unless your business model is […]

Remember Jim Jones, the People’s Temple cult leader (and Communist) who convinced 900 of his followers to drink the Kool-Aid way back in 1978? Well, he’s got to be so proud of our new “people’s temple” … Congress. By a vote of 219 to 212, the U.S. House passed the so-called “American Clean Energy and […]

As I’ve told you here in the past, I’ve made it a habit to read the Declaration of Independence and Constitution at least once a year – on Independence Day. To encourage Beacon readers to do the same, I usually post a link to read them. This year, however, I thought I’d give you something […]

Shawn Beqaj, the vice president for public affairs with Bresnan Communications, toured Montana last week to discuss, among other things, “wideband,” the blazing-fast Internet service that will, in a few years, allow you to download a feature-length film in a few dozen seconds. But I was far more interested in a contract Bresnan recently won […]

Matt Himsl, long-time state senator from Kalispell, had a great influence on my political thinking. Beginning in my teen years, I spent many enriching hours exploring ideas with him. Matt presided over the Flathead County Republican Central Committee for more than a decade. He was a Goldwater delegate to the 1964 Republican National Convention, and […]

Not long ago, I was having a conversation with a friend about a photographer he knew that was in the middle of shooting a Sikh wedding. I’ve never been to a Sikh wedding, but it sounded like it lasts several days and ends up resulting in 6000-10000 photos. Quite a celebration, apparently. I suggested that […]

Last week, federal prosecutors moved to drop charges against the final defendant in the W.R. Grace trial. Most of Libby likely shrugged. After a decade, nearly 2,000 sickened townspeople and hundreds dead from asbestos exposure, Libby is accustomed to bad breaks. This, an anticlimactic end to a federal case that made national headlines, was just […]

The other day I was asked to play golf with some friends of mine after they had exhausted calling all of the good players they usually play with. Since the local golf club only has 70 members, good players sometimes have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to make up a foursome during the […]

After 60 years of suffering the enormous, costly inequities in private health insurance, Congress finally recognizes that only a common effort, led by the national government, can reform what is an obsolete, broken health insurance model. For the first time in many decades, Americans are experiencing reform impulses and once again have a healthy skepticism […]